


home (is where the heart is)

by scorpionGrass



Category: Kingdom Hearts (Video Games)
Genre: Demyx is MoM Theory, Gen, Isa is Bad at Feelings (Kingdom Hearts), Moving In Together, Pre-Slash, post-kh3
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-07-10
Updated: 2020-07-01
Packaged: 2021-03-05 05:13:37
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 3
Words: 6,175
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/25009009
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/scorpionGrass/pseuds/scorpionGrass
Summary: Lea and Isa have an argument about whether to move to Twilight Town or stay in Radiant Garden.
Relationships: Isa & Lea (Kingdom Hearts)
Comments: 3
Kudos: 24





	1. past

**Author's Note:**

> In case anyone is like "wait this is familiar," this fic was up a while back but I deleted it before the final (third) chapter was up so I could go through and make some edits. Hope you enjoy it the second time round :3 or the first for any new readers~

Nobodies die. Their Somebodies wake up.

“Wait for me here, you two,” Lea says with a crooked smile. “I’ll be back soon, just gotta pick someone up.”

So Roxas and Xion wait. And wait. And days go by.

~

Isa stands in front of his childhood home wondering exactly how long it’s been. No one’s home and he puts it down to the fact that Radiant Garden just… hasn’t _been_ in a while. No one’s claimed the house either, but it’s an almost exact replica of his childhood home, which is jarring yet somehow comforting.

(He should thank the Restoration Committee for their efforts, but that still feels wrong. Fresh out of the Organization, right back to where everything started? It doesn’t seem like the best idea.)

The lab offered to take him in, this time promising no shenanigans. No experiments of the heart. No Ansem or Xemnas or locked-up girls, just Even and his research into making sure his Replica program ran smoothly for the sake of all those children.

(Including Xion. He wonders how she’s doing now, with a body all her own, with the friends she so desperately fought to stay with.)

He turns the key he was given in the lock and feels the weight of it all. Keys. Locks. Blades. Worlds. Something so small for security purposes shouldn’t feel so heavy on his shoulders, but it does anyway and he’s resigned to the uncomfortable feeling overstaying its welcome.

“Can I come in?”

It’s an all-too-familiar voice and Isa stills for a moment.

“If you must,” he says without turning around, instead turning the doorknob and leading the way inside.

~

“So, you’ve been staying here huh? Place hasn’t changed a bit,” Lea says, lounging on the couch as Isa determinedly stares down the kettle, willing it to boil faster.

“I have, yes.”

“Do you wanna stay?”

Isa pauses. “Do I have another choice?”

“I mean, we have hearts now, and no lame master to serve. We don’t have to go back to the way things were, especially now that we’re not kids anymore. Everything different, y'know? We can choose anything,” Lea says. “You can choose anything.”

“That’s,” Isa pauses again, deep in his thoughts, “a lot to choose from.”

The kettle whistles and he turns the stove off. He can hear Lea snicker over it’s dying sound.

“Should I help you narrow it down?” Lea jokes.

“Okay.”

“Huh?”

“What are my choices?” Isa dips a tea bag into one of the mugs and dumps a spoonful of chocolate powder to the other, pouring the hot water in. “If I don’t stay in Radiant Garden, or in this specific house, where would I go? What are my choices?”

“Well,” Lea pauses, joking demeanour completely gone, replaced with something earnest and sheepish. “I was hoping you’d come live with me in Twilight Town.”

Isa slams the mugs down on the coffee table a little too hard, liquid sloshing out of both mugs, and immediately snaps back to the kitchen to grab a roll of paper towels.

“Uh, need help?”

“No!” Isa says, a bit too loudly into the cupboards, not wanting Lea to see how shaken he is at the prospect.

When he comes back, paper towels in hand, he hopes he looks more put together than he feels. “Twilight Town?” he asks in the most calm, disinterested manner he can muster.

“Yeah.” Lea nods. “Twilight Town.”

Isa takes a scalding sip of his tea to hide the way his lips twist downwards as he uses the paper towels as padding to soak up the spill under the mugs. Every action is careful and deliberate and slow, Isa’s current method of trying to stretch out his time and slow down his thoughts. “Why there?”

“Because… uh.”

“Because?”

Isa already knows why. He doesn’t need to ask, because the answer lies in those two sweet teenagers who haven’t actually done anything wrong other than exist near Lea, but today he’s feeling more like a masochist than he’s felt the entire time he’s been a Somebody again so far and he intends to see that feeling through at great personal risk.

“Well,” Lea starts, “it’s got the best sunsets.”

“And?”

“Scrooge set me up with a decent job at his restaurant and said he was looking for more help.”

“And?”

“Have you tried the food there? Way better than the hot dog vendors here.”

Isa does not relent. “And?”

“Dude, how many more reasons do you need?” Lea asks, his hair looking more like ruffled feathers than spikes. Like an offended little bird who chatters too much and always flies off to leave Isa alone exactly when he doesn’t want to be.

Isa takes another long sip of his tea, prolonging the time he has to answer in the most petty way possible. “As many as it takes for you to tell me the truth about why you’d want to go back there.”

“And you really want to stay back here? There’s nothing but ghosts in this place, Isa.”

“It’s my home.”

“It’s haunted.”

“It’s--”

Lea stands up. “Just, sleep on it, okay? Think about it. Promise?”

Isa makes no such thing, watching as Lea leaves like he always does when things get tough.

As the echoes of Lea slamming the door behind him and his footsteps retreating into the suburb fade, Isa stares at the untouched mug of hot chocolate he’d prepared.

“Wasteful.”

~

Nothing in Radiant Garden is radiant anymore. Lea frowns as he reaches the main square, outside of the castle and the laboratories. Only a fraction of the population survived whatever happened to this place, and the remnants of Maleficent’s twisted base haunts the horizon as a daily reminder of what this place once turned into.

Normal was once the only word to describe this place, but now it’s just empty. Maybe Sora’s other friends are happy here, but that’s because the only bad memories they have are of losing this world, then having to take it back.

No lost girls, no creepy experiments, no crazy scientists, and no getting wrapped up in some old geezer’s decades-long schemes to start a war they ended up losing anyway.

Standing in the middle of the square, he remembers meeting Ventus more clearly than when the kid reminded him. He grins at the memory of his ass getting handed to him by the pipsqueak, but that’s one of the few good memories that are left. The others are all with Isa, eating ice cream and wreaking havoc wherever they could in this idyllic place.

Every other memory is a curse.

(He hadn’t been lying when he told Roxas that he was lucky not to have them.)

Lea turns toward the castle and grimaces at the sight of Aeleus and Dilan standing guard. Except this time he's years older and not trying to sneak past them.

(Not getting captured by them either.)

“Know if there are any rooms for board?” Lea asks as he reaches them.

They exchange a look with each other and open the doors.

“Ask Even,” Dilan says.

“You remember where the labs are?” Aeleus asks.

“Yeah, yeah,” Lea says, waving a hand flippantly. “As much as I'd love to forget.”

Fucked up, exactly how many kids were caught up in the experiments of this lab. At least Even seemed to be repenting, and Ansem (the real Ansem, this time) apologized too.

Not that Lea really cares anymore about apologies. The damage is done. Nothing can take that back.

The lab is bright, wall-to-wall screens lighting up the whole room with data and charts and diagrams. Ienzo is typing up a storm at one of the terminals, Even behind him marking things down on a clipboard, both in deep concentration.

Lea watches for a moment, leaning against the doorframe, before taking the nearest seat. The only reason it was easy to sneak through this part of the lab is because these two have always been so intense about their work. Barely anything could interrupt them.

Threads of darkness run a shiver down his spine for a brief moment.

“They're really into it today!”

“Aren't they always?” Lea responds, tilting his head back to see Demyx, still in that damned Organization cloak, a dark corridor closing behind him.

“Yeah, gets kinda boring,” Demyx says with an overdrawn sigh, leaning heavily on the back of Lea's chair. “So, what are you in for?”

“A room, if there's a spare one that isn't barred and locked?”

“You're staying?”

“Fuck no. Just a couple days. Have some unfinished business.”

Demyx grins. “Ooh, you're as cryptic as always.”

Lea rolls his eyes. “So, why are you still here?”

“Mmm, well,” Demyx starts, standing up straight and making a thinking face complete with a hand on his chin. “Ienzo thinks I'm good research material. And, he's cute, so I don’t mind letting him try to figure out what makes a Nobody tick. It’s kinda fun.”

“Weirdo.”

Demyx shrugs. “It's something to do.”

“I guess.”

A few moments pass, Demyx humming softly as he pulls up his own chair. Even the squeaky wheels don’t catch the attention of the two scientists, and Lea can’t say he’s not impressed. Imagine being able to ignore the outside world so well, be so focused on what’s in front of you… Incredible, really.

A thought catches him and he can’t help but ask, “You seen Isa around?”

“Isa?”

“Saix, you know. Blue hair, X-shaped scar on his--”

Demyx exaggerates a shiver, clutching his arms around himself. “That dude? He’s here?!”

“Uh, yeah.”

“Oh jeez, is he still bossy and prickly and mean?”

Lea lets out a low chuckle. “Kinda, but he’s soft around the edges now. Like, if you stuck marshmallows on all the prickly parts.” That gets him a look of utter disbelief. “He was recompleted,” Lea adds. “Roxas and Xion took him out and he woke up back here.”

“Xion’s back too? Whoa! I missed a lot of action being benched,” Demyx says, lips in a pout, posture slouched to display the dictionary definition of sulking. “How is she?”

“Smiling.”

Demyx nods, the corners of his mouth twitching up. “I didn’t talk to her much, but she was a cutie. Soooo much nicer than Larxene. And she even told me my music was good! Not that Larxene would know anything about that. A melodic masterpiece could smack her in the face and she’d think it’s trash!”

One-track mind, Lea thinks, but at least he knows Demyx would probably be the same, Nobody or not. He was the only one who had ever insisted they did too have hearts, and adamantly stuck to that belief despite everyone else’s mockery.

“So, enough chit-chat,” Demyx says with a grin, making a show of standing up. Water flows from the air, encircling him and pouring into the shape of his sitar. “Let’s see if we can get you a room!”

~

Two wet, grumpy scientists, a floor that needs mopping, and a yelling match later, Lea finds himself being ushered away to a room by Ienzo. Which is awkward. Everything about Radiant Garden is awkward. There’s no sugar-coated way to say that he killed Vexen and basically threw the Riku Replica at Zexion, and it’s probably way too late to apologize for something that happened as a Nobody under some messed up orders.

They were all different back then. Zexion was a malicious douche, and Vexen happily carried out dangerous human experimentation, probably while whistling. Not to mention Saix’s plans to take over the Organization with him, which Zexion was too close to figuring out. They had been traitors and scum, and he’s sure they all recognize the past as the past.

And anyway, he’d been their assassin, the Flurry of Dancing Flames, so it shouldn’t be weird. It was in the job description!

(It is weird though, and the uncomfortable feeling crawls up Lea’s spine.)

And right now, Lea’s sure the apology needs to come from Demyx. Ienzo’s soaked through and shivering, back ramrod straight and arms folded around him in a weak bid to keep the heat in. He’s giving off major wet cat vibes. That is to say, angry vibes. Lea wants to laugh, but it’d make this awkward situation more awkward and he does not want Ienzo’s glare to be levelled at him.

“What did we say about your water in the lab?” Ienzo asks calmly. His voice is young but old, childishly annoyed but stern, but his eyes say he’s ready for cold-blooded murder.

“Uhhh,” Demyx starts, and Lea gets the overwhelming feeling that Demyx’s theatre kid phase still hasn’t conked out because he’s extra dramatic in his pause. “No water? In the lab?”

Lea notes the sheepish tone thrown in for brownie points and wants to laugh again. He holds it back with massive effort.

Ienzo stares at him. Glares, really, from underneath his long fringe. “So what are you never going to do again?”

“Um, summon water in the lab?”

“Mhm?” Ienzo prods.

“Even when you’re in deep concentration?”

“And?”

“A tap on the shoulder is the best protocol?”

Zexion gives him an appeased look.

“So you _do_ have it memorized,” Lea teases.

Demyx laughs sheepishly.

Soon enough they’re in a wing of the castle that Lea definitely doesn’t remember. The corridor is dull like the rest of the lab, with metal walls and cabling throughout, and Ienzo opens one of the doors for him.

“Will this do?”

Lea walks into a neat and tidy square bedroom, similar to the ones at the Organization’s base except less white and more homey. Even the comforter on the bed is soft and plush when he sits down. “It’ll do. Like I said, I’m only hanging around a couple days. Got business to attend to.”

Ienzo nods. “Fair enough. I’ll let the rest of the lab know this room is yours, so unless you have a need for us, you shouldn’t be bothered.” He pauses momentarily, eyes shifting to the musician in the room. “Or, well, Demyx might bother you.”

Demyx responds with two thumbs up. “Yeah, it’s super boring around here.”

Lea grins. “Not a problem. Thanks a lot.”

“Byeee!” Demyx waves, and the door shuts and Lea is left alone.

Or, as alone as he can be with his memories.

~

Isa doesn’t have friends.

He has Lea.

And as Isa lays awake in bed that night, he wonders if that was a pleading look in Lea’s eyes or desperacy. Maybe even something as vile as love (because what is that, when it’s been years since either of them have known it?). Because for all Lea told him that he wanted to forget the past, he still clutched tightly to their friendship, no matter how battered and broken it got as Saix and Axel.

After all, why else would he come back here?

~

Lea stands in front of Isa’s door the next day, debating between using the ornate knocker or the doorbell. His eyes find the bump under the mat of the potted plant where the key has always been hidden and he frowns.

No, he’s not going to do the degenerate thing today (though as kids, there was never a second thought).

He uses the knocker, still gleaming silver, but now well within reach. His growth spurt may have happened during his time as a Nobody, but at least without a heart he didn’t have to go through all the weird feelings of puberty. Silver linings.

It doesn’t take long for Isa to answer. He’s stone-faced as usual, levelling a gaze of utter disinterest at him.

“So you’re back,” he says.

“Yeah, think I’d miss Round Two? Let’s do this.” Lea strides in, trying to fake more confidence than he was able to cough up yesterday. “You cooking?”

“For one,” Isa says pointedly, getting back to the pot he’s got on the stove.

Lea forces a smirk. “Too bad, it smells good. Maybe good enough for ol’ Scrooge’s bistro. The job offer still stands, the place is busier than ever and he’s been looking for a few extra hands.”

“Munny is the least of my concerns since I don’t spend frivolously like you.”

Lea leans against the counter, watching him saute diced onions and add carefully measured spices. “Style is a necessary expense when we don’t have uniforms anymore.”

“Uniforms were so practical.”

Lea almost laughs. Hearing Isa lament like that is something he’d never expected. “If you say so.”

Silence follows, but there’s a strange kind of comfort watching Isa do normal, domestic things. It’s definitely more welcome than what he did for the Organization. Following Xemnas around, making notes and scheming behind the scenes to take over something they wanted nothing to do with was not something Lea missed.

“So Isa…” Lea starts carefully, “did you at least think about it?”

“Think about what?” Isa asks.

Lea stares at him, unsurprised yet vaguely irritated. “Moving. To live with me. In Twilight Town.”

Isa continues to cook, stirring in more ingredients until the pot is filled with a sauce that smells delicious. Lea knows Isa’s just trying to extend his time. After all, his pauses were always less about the drama and more about carefully constructing his words.

“What calls you to Twilight Town?” Isa finally asks, deflecting Lea’s question entirely.

Lea shrugs. “All my best memories are there.”

“Don’t you hate all your memories?”

Lea frowns. “Yeah, the ones that I had from being human,” he says. “From being a Somebody. They were useless and they did nothing but remind me of failures and what-if’s. And they were all here. Not there.”

Isa pauses in whatever step in this recipe he’s on. “Then, I’m a bad memory.”

“What? No!” Lea’s rightfully offended “You’re the only good part, but I’m not gonna stay here.”

Isa hums. “Okay then, what if _she’s_ here?”

“She’s not,” Lea says, absolutely sure of it. “She disappeared, and there’s no way we’ll ever find her now.”

“So you don’t even want to try?”

“Of course I do, but it’s a cold case. And are you seriously choosing something impossible over me?”

Another pause, longer this time. “Unlike you, I’d like to keep my promise--”

“Unbelievable.”

“What about it?”

“You. You’re unbelievable,” Lea says, his voice rising “I did everything for her, and then everything for you. And you can’t even _think_ about doing one thing for me.”

Isa’s attention is finally off the stove. “I just want to go back to normal--”

“And I want to forget all of it and move on, why aren’t you with me? It’s been like a decade, Isa. We’re too old to go back.”

Silence permeates the entire house in a thick uncomfortable blanket and Lea watches Isa’s eyes narrow and sharpen.

“Get out.”

Lea lets out a breath he didn’t know he was holding, turns on his heel, and leaves.


	2. present

It’s sunny in Radiant Garden.

It’s  _ always _ sunny in Radiant Garden. The temperature is always just right, there’s never too many clouds, the sun is always shining, and Isa is annoyed to hell and back.

It’s rude, how Lea takes up his headspace. How Lea has always taken up the majority of his thoughts, feelings, childhood memories, various tasks, and most of his life. And now, how Lea wants to throw all of it away. Good or bad, Isa stopped caring about which memories were what when he woke up in Radiant Garden, in the labs that wove under the cobblestone walkways above ground.

All of it was his, and he didn’t want to throw it all out for something new. Something he…

(He promised that Lea would never get it out of him a second time, but to himself he’ll admit and dwell over his meaningless jealousy, the rage inside himself that he’d learned to tame as a berserker until necessary.)

“Pointless,” he mutters to himself as he locks the door behind him and tries to take in some fresh air.

A walk would do him some good. Burn some adrenaline off.

(It’s been days, but he’s still angry with nowhere to direct it, and the only person he’d ever confide in is probably far away now.)

~

When Lea isn’t locked up in his room at the lab, he’s watching Ienzo conduct his experiments on Demyx. It doesn’t involve many needles, but it does involve Demyx with his Organization coat discarded on a nearby chair, sitting on one of the patient beds, with Ienzo intensely focused on various tasks.

“The most fascinating thing is that he still has a heartbeat,” Ienzo told him over dinner the night before. “I tested that on myself as a Nobody, but there wasn’t one there. But Demyx, he’s got one, and it’s steady and strong.”

Currently, Ienzo’s checking his heartbeat again, palm pressing a stethoscope to Demyx’s chest as he counts carefully under his breath.

Demyx, on the other hand, is hunched on the chair, enough to allow Ienzo to actually reach where he needs to. A soft smile is set on his face as he gazes down at Ienzo as intently as Ienzo is staring at his watch.

“Still there?” Lea asks.

Ienzo shushes him until a full minute has passed. “Yeah. It’s amazing,” he says, writing something down in his notes.

Demyx just shrugs. “Told you we have hearts. They might be buried a little deeper, but they’re there!”

“Lean forward,” Ienzo instructs, placing the stethoscope on Demyx’s back, “and take a deep breath again.”

A few moments pass and Lea is strangely fascinated. The human body was always theirs, but Nobody’s were never supposed to exist. They didn’t have key parts they needed to be human. Or at least, that’s what Xemnas had always preached. It’s why Kingdom Hearts was on the top of their priority list, so they could be whole again.

A second lease on a human life (even if that ended up being a scam).

But now that Lea’s got one, he’s not sure how to use it. There’s always been something to fight for, whether a person or a cause, but what is there now other than living a normal life?

“Your blood pressure is normal, but on the low side. I wonder if that’s standard for a Nobody,” Ienzo muses aloud, pulling away from Demyx and making another note on his clipboard. “Too bad I can’t test that against anything. It could be the sign of an incomplete heart, if it’s slow.”

His pencil flies across his clipboard in a flurry of note-taking and Lea is kind of impressed.

“So, I thought you were here on business,” Demyx says conversationally while Ienzo quietly rushes off, taking his file of findings to the main lab area. “You’ve been here a lot longer than you said you’d be.”

Lea shrugs. “It’s not quite working out the way I wanted it to. Figured some downtime might help.”

Demyx grins as he grabs his coat and rips off the inflated blood pressure tool on his arm. “Ah, procrastination. Gotcha,” he says, shooting finger-guns at him. “I know all about that.”

Lea rolls his eyes. “Sure, Dem.”

“Hey, it takes one to know one! See you ‘round!” And with that, he bounces off.

Lea glances around the room, jars of popsicle sticks and cotton balls in jars on the desk, tools for looking inside ears hung in a row on the wall. His eyes come to rest on the stethoscope and morbid curiosity is what has him pick it up. He nearly has it in his ears, pressing the metal circle to his chest, when Ienzo comes back in, attention ever-focused on his clipboard. Lea quickly puts the tool down.

Ienzo looks up at him after a moment. “Just forgot something is all,” he says carefully, opening a drawer and taking out a box. “But since you’re still here, would you mind if I ran a check-up on you? Now that you’re human again, you probably haven’t had a physical since you were a kid.”

“Uh, sure.”

“Perfect,” Ienzo nods. “You can hang around the lab, I’ll let you know when I’m done with Demyx.”

He leaves the room and Lea soon follows when he decides, no, he doesn’t want to be cooped up in a small testing room. The rest of the lab is far more interesting, even if it’s still vaguely eerie in its own special way nowadays. Plus when Even saw Lea hanging around more often, he shoved him at one of the desks and showed him the arcade games on the computer to pass the time and keep him away from the important stuff.

Namely, the backup replica data should the ones currently being used by Roxas, Xion, and Namine ever fail, along with some important research.

The arcade games are kinda repetitive, but there’s one with falling blocks that Lea finds himself kind of addicted to. It’s fun watching the lines fill up and disappear, and he sets himself to the task of beating his last high score before Ienzo comes to collect him for that physical.

(And yeah, it’s absolutely weird that tiny, young Ienzo is educated enough to do a doctor’s job, but Lea figures it’s because the lab does so much research on the human body due to the hearts inside them that it’s only natural.)

Even is on the other side of the room, glancing at Lea warily as if he’d do something to fuck up his servers of research documents, but Lea really isn’t interested in doing anything. The only reason he’d fucked with Even in Organization XIII is because he had to, as part of his mission in Castle Oblivion to root out the traitors. He was just in the way of Axel’s cover with Larxene and Marluxia.

Nothing to hold grudges about.

But Even’s got a good memory, so he keeps an eye on Lea regardless.

“Having fun?” he asks while statistics load up on one of the screens.

“A little. Game’s weirdly addictive,” Lea says. “What about you? Stuck on something?”

Even sits down, three seats away at another console. “Yes. Although I wanted to be the one who cracks this, I feel as though Ienzo might have a better idea. Fresh eyes, old data, might find something new,” he says, beginning to ramble. “As far as we know, everything is stable, but you may have to bring the three of those kids around for check-ups sometimes. Just like normal humans, to make sure their bodies are functioning correctly, of course.”

“Sure thing,” Lea nods. “I’m sure they won’t mind visiting.”

Even frowns. “So, what’s the problem you’re stuck on?”

Lea hesitates before pausing the game and swivelling his chair around. “It’s Isa.”

“Formerly known as Saix, I presume?”

“Yeah, that’s the one.”

Even nods dutifully, quick to shift gears into a new equation. “And what, per se, is the nature of the problem?”

Well, it’s not like they’re rooting out traitors and backstabbing each other anymore. Lea figures there’s no real harm in talking. “I asked him to move to Twilight Town with me. And he wants to stay here.”

“And what’s wrong with here?” Even prods. “Is it not your home?”

“Not anymore.”

“And he considers his home here?”

“I guess so.”

Even nods again, humming quietly. “Then your problem stems from convincing him otherwise, when he’s perfectly happy to stay here?”

“That’s the thing!” Lea says. “I know he’s not happy. And for some reason he’s stuck thinking I like the others more than him? But he’s got nothing to be jealous of, he’s my friend just like the rest are, and I want us to all be happy together. What’s so wrong with that?”

“Have you told him that?” Even asks. Somehow, it sounds like a sincere question despite the dry, judgmental tone.

Lea grimaces. “I tried, but--”

“No, no buts. Did you say those words or not?”

Lea sure thought he did, but all he remembers now thinking back on it is fighting. Saying the wrong things. Getting offended instead of coming at the issue with Isa in mind. “I guess not.”

Even nods again. This time, it feels approving. “Then you should try again.”

~

After his physical. Or at least, that’s what Lea tells himself. That’s when he’ll go back to Isa’s and ask again. Third time’s the charm, right? Sure. That’s how it goes. Sayings like that are widespread because they’re true. Right? Must be.

Lea’s nerves take over, and his high score is left forgotten as he tries to even just focus on the game instead of staring blankly at the screen, planning his words out and playing imaginary scenarios in his head.

Even never looked like the kind of guy who was good at feelings, but Lea knows it’s because they all knew each other better when they weren’t themselves. Nobodies without hearts, surviving and plotting and doing their damn best. And Vexen with his Replica program, manipulating a fake heart regardless of morality just to prove his plan was better, backed by scientific data and his inflated ego.

(But Even was the one who stabbed Xemnas in the back, atoned for his sins, did his damn best, and ended up back here.)

“Lea?”

Ienzo snaps him out of his thoughts, and he doesn’t even know how long he’s been hunched over the computer. “Yeah?”

“Demyx is all done. You ready?”

“Sure.”

Ienzo leads him back to the individual rooms and Demyx is waiting in the hall to follow along with them.

“He’s bored, please ignore him,” Ienzo says quietly and Demyx bounces along behind them.

Lea shrugs. “I think we’re all used to that by now.”


	3. future

Isa hates this. He hates thinking about Lea back in Twilight Town with the friends he’d ditched him for, starting over with a new life and a new job in a new world. There was nothing sentimental about it (not that Isa did things out of something like  _ sentimentality _ , but still!). There was nowhere for Isa in that life. No space to wedge him in, no cracks for him to slip into.

Lea only came out of obligation.

(But that still doesn’t explain why he’d slammed the door, looking as upset as Isa had been that day in his apartment.)

The sun is out, the sky is blue, and the weather never changes in Radiant Garden just as the sun never sets in Twilight Town. Isa’s out for another walk that turned into a jog that turned into a run, and now he’s regretting not bringing anything to tie his thick hair up with because he’s sweating and gross and right in front of the castle and  _ how did he get here? _

He’d been trying to  _ avoid _ this damn castle, but here he is on its doorstep. Aeleus and Dilan are there standing guard as usual, and when their eyes lock onto his, Isa scowls.

“You haven’t changed,” Dilan comments when Isa stomps up to them.

He ignores that jab. “I heard Lea was staying here,” he says instead. It’s a guess more than anything else, but where else would Lea go if he wasn’t staying either here or with Isa himself?

“He still is,” Aeleus says. “You want in?”

Isa’s scowl deepens, a crease between his brow forming right in the middle of his scar. “Just open the doors.”

The relief that fills him knowing that Lea’s still here is something he refuses to acknowledge, shoving the feeling deep down as he enters the castle from the front doors for the first time in a long time. He’s too busy thinking about how they used to sneak in, through vents and hidden tunnels. How they vowed to free that girl. How they failed, then vowed to find her.

Isa hates this castle.

The halls are as familiar as the day they turned into Nobodies, and Isa quickly finds himself in front of the large doors to the lab where Even and Ienzo always worked. Isa takes a deep breath and turns the knob on the door.

Even sits at one of the consoles with a mug of coffee in one hand and a clipboard of data in the other. He looks up as the door opens, unsurprised by Isa’s presence entirely as he sips at his coffee.

“Lea’s with Ienzo,” he says idly, gesturing toward another door.

Isa nods and sets off.

~

While it may have been a shock to hear Demyx had his own heartbeat as a Nobody, it’s an even bigger shock to hear his own pumping in his chest. Ienzo gives Lea the stethoscope so he can hear it himself, and the soft thump of it is something he’d never thought he’d feel again.

The physical Ienzo’s conducting is more just to make sure his body’s back to normal, a fully functional human being  _ Somebody _ , but to Lea it’s almost more than that.

His body is his own again, and he has a heartbeat to prove it. Emotions that aren’t shadows of what he used to feel, real feelings that flood his heart and his veins. That’s why he’s here in Radiant Garden, of all the damned places in all the worlds, because he missed Isa. So much.

And then a slew of new feelings took their place when Isa had rejected him.

Feelings… were better, when it was just him and Kairi in that magical forest, training for years in the span of days. She’d been easy to talk to, and fun to spar with. A straight path in comparison to all the mazes of people around him. Lea wishes everyone could be like that. Simple, straightforward, no guesswork or landmines.

“All done,” Ienzo says with a smile, removing the stethoscope from Lea’s ears. “We’re all in perfect health considering what we’ve all been through.”

“Awesome!” Demyx grins.

Lea grins back. “Good to hear we’re not damaged goods.”

They start heading back together to the main lab, Demyx chattering away as Ienzo nods and hums along. Lea grimaces. It reminds him of the days before the Organization, before they were Nobodies, and he and Isa would explore all over Radiant Garden, Isa nodding along to all of Lea’s ideas and thoughts.

He said he’d go talk to Isa after his physical, but it feels so hard. They aren’t the same people they were, and while Isa did admit he was jealous of Xion and Roxas, Lea had never thought it ran deep enough to separate them between worlds like this.

Then, Demyx stops talking, the last words of his incessant loudness echoing in the empty hallway.

~

Isa glares past a terrified Demyx, past an unaffected Ienzo, at Lea. He’s out of breath, but he refuses to acknowledge the way he literally rushed into the castle and through its winding corridors to see him. He isn’t doing this for Lea (but he might be doing it for his own sanity).

He straightens up, grateful that Demyx has shut his mouth for once in his life. “Leave us,” he says in the most commanding tone possible.

Demyx seems positively relieved and scurries off with a quick, “Yessir!” as Ienzo trails behind him, looking between him and Lea with an odd expression. An odd expression that Isa has no intention of parsing because he’s too focused on what he should say because he’s an idiot who didn’t plan it out and now it’s too late.

“Yo,” Lea says when the other two are out of earshot.

Isa takes a deep breath. “Hi.”

Lea looks somewhere between irritated and relieved and Isa does not know what to make of that.

“Sorry.”

They both say it at the same time, and Isa immediately feels stupid. Lea just looks shocked. Isa takes the opportunity to keep going before all his courage evaporates.

“It was unfair of me to say the things I said,” he says.

“Unfair? Try rude,” Lea corrects.

“I’m sorry.”

Silence wraps around them, and Lea looks even more shocked than before. “Two sorries in one conversation?” he asks disbelievingly “Are you really Isa?”

Isa huffs. “I’m trying to be sincere, and you’re making it unnecessarily difficult.”

Lea shrugs. “Okay, you have the floor.”

“I’ll move to Twilight Town with you.”

“What? Why!” Lea says, confused. “You’ve made it incredibly clear you don’t want to--”

“I thought you’d forgotten about me,” Isa interrupts. “But you’re here. And you’ve been here for over a week.” It sounds more like an accusation than anything else, but it’s a fact.

“So?”

“Admit it,” Isa says, folding his arms over his chest. “I’m important to you.”

“Yeah?” There’s a challenge in Lea’s voice. “Well if you came all this way then that means I must be important to you too!”

They glare at each other for a moment and Isa feels ridiculous. This whole situation is ludicrous and stupid, and the sheer irritation on Lea’s face makes Isa smile despite how ridiculous this entire argument is.

“If those two facts are true,” Isa says finally, “then let’s go home. I hate this castle.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I hope you all enjoyed <3


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